Contact With the Spirit Realm
IN THE center of a typical West African town stood an attractive one-story building, painted white and green. In the reception room, two secretaries worked at typewriters. Several people lounged in chairs, waiting to see the babaláwo, the diviner.
Behind a desk in the adjacent office, beside a fax machine, sat the babaláwo himself. Heavyset, with graying hair, he wore long white robes—expensive, embroidered. “My father was a diviner,” he said. “I was born into the tradition. I grew up in it. By the time I was five, when my father went to divine, I went with him. I watched how he did it, and I copied him until it became part and parcel of me.”
The babaláwo gestured toward a large wooden display board that outlined the intricate divination system that his people had used for countless generations. Based on the casting of 16 palm nuts, it is a system that has spread throughout West Africa and beyond. “People come to me with all kinds of problems,” he said. “Problems with women, sterility, joblessness, insanity, health, and so on. Depending on the results of the divination, appeal is made either to the ancestors or to the heavenly bodies [divinities]. Whichever the case, some type of sacrifice must be performed.”
Traditional religious practices, including divination, are strong in the area, but so are the churches of Christendom. Not far from the babaláwo’s offices are whitewashed buildings with signs in front: King Solomon II Church, Cherubim and Seraphim, Celestial Church of Christ, Christ Apostolic Church, Christ Trumpeters Church. These churches coexist with and sometimes embrace the practices of traditional religion. Said the babaláwo: “Recently I was talking with the bishop. He came here. After we had discussed matters for about 30 minutes, he said he wanted us to map out some sort of dialogue where Christians and traditionalists can sit down to exchange ideas and clear up misunderstandings.”
Doors to the Spirit World
Such misunderstandings often involve the identity of those who reside in the spirit realm. Throughout Africa south of the Sahara, there is widespread belief that there are two groups of beings who dwell in the spirit world. The first group is made up of divinities, or gods, who have never been humans. The second group consists of the ancestors, or spirits of the dead, whose responsibility it is to ensure the survival and prosperity of their families on earth. Both divinities and ancestors are believed to have power either to help or to harm those on earth. Consequently, both must be shown proper respect and homage.
Similar beliefs are found in many parts of the world. Using various means, people everywhere approach the forces of the supernatural, seeking knowledge of the future and help and guidance in the everyday problems of life. Is it really possible to obtain help from the spirit realm? Jesus Christ, who had lived there, showed that it is. He said: “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) But to receive that help, we must ask the right person, seek in the right manner, and knock on the right door. If we knock on the wrong door, it may be opened by someone who will do us harm, not good.
It is vital, therefore, to know who live in the spirit realm and who do not. We also need to know the difference between those who will help us and those who will harm us. Finally, we need to know what we must do to receive help from the ones prepared to give it. The following articles will examine these matters.
[Picture Credit Line on page 3]
Photo on pages 3-4: The Star, Johannesburg, S.A.